Golf ball



L@ LN H. N. HUSE GOLF BALL Filed Aug. 16, 1.941 2 Sheets-sheet 1 March 21, 1.944.

2 Sheets-Sheetl 2 H. N. HUvsE GOLF BALL Filed Aug. 16, 1941 March 21,1944.

"1NvENToR. 4 /f/A/w /V. /f//wf BY I ATToRNzY Patented Mar. 21, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOLF BALL Hiram N. Huse, Providence, R. I., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey y Application August 16, 1941, Serial N0. 407,134

Claims.

This invention relates to golf balls, and more particularly to improvements in the construction of the ball body.

In manufacturing golf balls, it is the usual practice to provide a center formed of yielding material such as a rubber core or a confined fluid, about which a rubber tape or thread is wound to form the ball body, and this ball body is provided with a protecting cover of balata.

In the cheaper golf balls the ball body is com- `monly formed from start to finish of a narrow rubber tape or thread wrapped helically about the core until the ball body has reached the full size to which the cover is to be applied. In the more expensive, high-tension, balls it is now the usual practice to wind a wide rubber tape helically about the core until the ball body is nearly large enough to receive the cover, and then transfer the ball body to another machine where a narrow tape or thread is wound upon the ball body until it is large enough to receive the cover. Both the wide and narrow tape are wound under high tension to give the ball high density.

A wide tape is used to form the greater portion of the ball body of a high tension ball because it eliminates to a large degree the voids which occur between the adjacent helical windings, over those which occur when a narrow tape or thread is used, 'and forms a denser ball. The golf ball manufacturers would prefer to wind the entire ball body from start to finish of wide rubber tape, but the difficulty is that if the exterior of the ball body is formed of wide tape the surface of the ball body will be so smooth that it will not afford a good anchorage for the balata cover. Therefore it is now the general practice in making high density balls to form the major portion .of the ball body of wide rubber tape, but the outer periphery thereof of narrow rubber tape or thread which will cause a suicient number of winding the entire ball on a single machine.

Another is that in the high tension ball, every eiort is made to form the numerous helical windings under high tension, and a loss of tension occurs at the point where the transfer'is made from a wide to a narrow tape. Another is that an abrupt change necessarily occurs at the point where the wide tape terminates and the narrow tape begins so that the ball body is practically free of voids up to this point and is formed with substantial voids from this point outwardly, where as a gradual increase in the size of these voids toward the cover is deemed desirable.

Having in mind the foregoing one important feature of the present invention resides ina golf ball, the ball body of which is formed of a wide tape throughout a major portion thereof and a narrow tape or thread adjacent the outer periphery of the ball body but both are formed in one continuous and non-interrupted winding operation that avoids tlie necessity of transfering the ball from one machine to another.

Another important feature resides in a'ball the ball body of which is so constructed that the change over from the wide tape forming the helical winding for the major portion of the ball body, to the narrow tape forming the outer periphery of the finished ball body is gradual throughout a number of convolutions. As a result of this construction there is no abrupt transfer from a wide to a narrow tape, and no loss of tension such as occurred heretofore when the transfer took place, and the voids increase gradually in size as the ball body approaches its nal size.

This novel and highly desirable construction is secured by employing a wide rubber tape to form the entire ball body, and by gradually reducing the width of the tape near the outer periphery of the ball body by twisting the tape about its longitudinal axis as it is wound on the ball and thereby reduce its width near the ball cover. This twisting of the tape to reduce its width and the extent to which its width is reduced can be readily controlled by regulating the amount of twist imparted to the tape as it is delivered to the ball.

It is herein contemplated that when the ball l body has been built up to the desired size with the helical windings of the wide tape in a fiat condition, then the width of the tape is gradually reduced by twisting the tape, and the amount of twist imparted to the tape per unit length is preferably increased outwardly until the ball body reaches full size.

If a substantial amount of twist is imparted to the tape its width will be reduced to such an extent that it will lie on the ball in the form of a narrowed tape or thread, to thereby form a ball body which is sufciently rough at its cuter periphery and has suicient voids to cause the cover to be rmly anchored thereupon.

This highly desirable construction whereby the entire ball body may be formed of one continuous rubber tape which lies about the core in a flat condition throughout a major portion of the body and in a twisted and folded condition of greatly reduced width at the outer periphery of the ball body, is readily secured by providing any one of a number of well known types of ball winding machines with an attachment which will serve to rotate the source of tape supply :and twist the tape as it is delivered to the winding position.

The above and other features of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

1 is a vertical transverse sectional view through a golf ball winding machine adapted to Ywind a ball in accordance with the present invention, the view'being taken adjacent the winding position.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through lthe Yupper portion ofthe machine shown in Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is amore or less diagrammatic view showing part of .the tape .as it lies on -rthe Vball body in a wide, fiat condition, and part in a folded condition `near the outer periphery of the ball body; and

Fig. 4 is a. View of a golf 'ball constructed in accordance with rthe present invention, shown l.D'irtly in section and also with a part of the cover lball winding machine with an attachment for imparting the desired twist to the tape as it is advanced towards the golf ball winding position.

One good practical type of ball winding machine which may be used in carrying out the present invention is shown, described and claimed in the Cobb vPatent No. 1,270,009. The machine herein shown is for the most part similar `in construction and operation to that rdisclosed in said patent, but has associated therewith mechanism for imparting the desired .twist to the rubber tape as it is advanced to the ball Ywinding position.

In the machine shown in the drawings the operating parts are supported by a main casing having the front wall is, rear wall II, end walls l2 and Ytop I3. Mounted upon this top I3 are the spaced frames or housings Ie. These housings are spaced from each other suiiciently to provide a clearance space between them in which the ball winding heads l5 and I6 mayrotate. These heads are supported for sliding movement towards and from each other by the relatively vlong sleeves I1 and I8 which are slidably mounted in thehousings I4, and are prevented from rotating by the keys I9. Each head is secured to a long hollow shaft 20 journaled in a non-rotating sleeve I'I .or I8, and each of the shafts 20 is provided at its louter end with a driving gear 2| which serves to rotate the head. Each shaft 20 has rotatably mounted Vtherein a shaft 22 that is driven by a gear 23, and the function of this shaft is to turn the ball supporting disks 24 rotatably mounted in each head. The gears 2| and 23 mesh with and are driven by the gears 25 and 26, one of which is slightly larger than the other as shown, and these gears are secured to and are driven by the main drive shaft 21 which is rotatably supported at 28 and may be driven by the belt pulley 2B.

The non-rotating sleeves Il and IB are continuously urged towards each other to thereby hold the heads I5 and I6 in yielding engagement with the ball B to support and rotate the same. To this end the sleeve Il has connected thereto the vertically .disposed arms 30 which are rigidly secured to and extend upwardly from the horizontal rocking shaft 3|, which shaft is journaled in bearings 32 mounted upon the top I3. The arms 30 are bifurcated at their upper ends to receive thecooperating pins 33 projecting laterally from the opposite walls of the sleeve il. The shaft 3l has rigidly secured thereto to extend horizontally therefrom the arm 34, the outer end of which is provided with the gear segment 35. The other non-rotating sleeve I8 Vis similarly equipped with the upright arms 35 and horizontal arm v3`IA which are rigidly secured to the rocking shaft 38 supported bythe brackets 39. The arm 31 is provided at its outer end with the gear segment 4I).

The construction is such that the cooperating gear segments S5 and il cause the arms '3G and 3;? .to move together as the heads I5 and ,I are moved towards or from each other, and these heads are continuously urged towards the ball engaging position by the weight e! which is suspended from the gear sections 35 and 49 by the links .62. When it is desired to separate the heads to release the ball B this may be done -by engaging the upstanding lever its, dispo-sed at the rear of the machine, with the hand and push it Yrearwardly to thereby force the 'heads apart. This lever is pivotally supported from the machine frame by the shaft M and is provided with a frontwardly extending finger d that is adapted to engage the lower face of the gear segment Il .tolift the same when the lever 43 is pushed rearwardly, and thereby operate the upstanding arms 3i?, .3S to force the heads apart.

The vmechanism so far described by reference .numerals forms no essential part of the present invention .and operates in substantially the same manner as the similar construction disclosed in the above .cited Cobb patent. Eachhead I5 and I5 has associated therewith a ball engaging roller I6 adapted Yto cooperate with the adjacent disks 2.4 to hold the ball between the heads for rota- .tion upon the longitudinal axis of the shafts 22 and also relative to such axis.

The rubber tape T to be wound on the ball B is .supplied to the ball under tension from a position in front of the winding machine. Various means might be provided for tensioning this tape as it is delivered to the ball, and the means shown consists of an upper tape receiving drum 'd'I and a lower tape receiving drum 48. These drums are rotatably supported in spaced relation to each other by the bracket 119 secured to the machine frame. The upper drum has associated therewith a brake strap anchored at one end and having an adjusting thumb nut 50 at Aits other end as shown, andthe lower brake drum 48 about which it may be looped to tension the tape, and is then looped around the drum 41 to further tension it. The tape is then lead to the ball winding position.

The present invention contemplates, as above pointed out, that after the ball body has had sufiicient tape T wound tightly thereupon in a flat condition to bring the ball up to a predetermined size, then the rest of the tape is to be twisted or folded as it is supplied to the ball to complete the winding operation. The present invention further contemplates that the twist imparted to the tape be slight at first and increased progressively as the ball winding operation approaches completion.

One good practical form of mechanism which t is adapted to cooperate with the ball winding machine illustrated will now be described, and such mechanism is designed to supply the tape to the winding position in an untwisted condition until the ball body has reached a predetermined size, and then twist the tape a gradually increasing amount as the ball body approaches its full size.

The tape supply spool 52 is supported between the upstanding brackets 53 to rotate upon its horizontal axis 54. The brackets 53 are rigidly secured to the ro-tating turn table 55 which is rotatably supported by the vertical shaft 56 journaled in a bracket 51 that forms part of the casting 58 secured to the machine casing. The shaft 56 is slidably mounted in the bracket 51 so that the table 55 may be raised and lowered. The arrangement is such that this table may be lowered into engagement with a driving disk 59 secured to one end of the shaft 68. This shaft is journaled in the casing 58 for rotating and longitudinal sliding movement. The arrangement is such that the speed at which the table 55 is rotated may be varied by sliding the driving shaft 60 to move its disk 59 towards and from the axis of the table 55.

The` present invention contemplates mecha nism whereby the driving disk 59 will be automatically advanced towards the axis of the table 55, as the size of the ball B approaches its final size. To this end the rocking shaft 3l has rigidly secured thereto the laterally projecting arm 65. The outer end of this arm is connected by a rod 66 to the outer end of the horizontally extending arm 51 forming part of a bell-crank lever 68 that is pivotally mounted at 69 upon a fixed bracket 10. The upper end o-f this bellcrank lever is provided with a sleeve 1l journaled upon the shaft 60. The arrangement is such that as the heads I and I6 are forced apart by the increased size of the ball, the outer end of the arm 65 will be elevated and this will rock the bell-crank lever 58 to thereby slide the shaft 59 in a direction to move the driving disk 59 towards the center of the table to increase its speed. The result of this is to increase the number of twists per unit length imparted to the tape T as the ball B grows in size.

It is desirable that the tape twisting mechanism just described shall remain inactive throughout the early winding stages and until the major portion of the tape T has been wound upon the ball body. To accomplish this, in the construction shown, the centra1 shaft 55 for the table 55 has an end that extends downwardly below the bearing bracket 51 so that this end may rest upon an end portion of a rocking lever 12, the opposite end of which is pivotally mounted at 13. The arrangement is such that if this lever 12 is raised it will lift the table 55 out of engagement with its driving disk 59. Means is provided for normally supporting this lever 12 in its elevated position to hold the table 55 out of engagement with the rotating disk 59 so that the table will not be driven by this disk, and also will not interfere with the longitudinal sliding movement of the shaft 5Fl at this time by the dragging of the disk 59 against the table 55. The lever 12 is conveniently held in the raised position just mentioned by a connecting rod 1d the upper end of which is secured to one arm of a rocking lever 15 which is pivotally mounted at 15 upon a bracket 11 secured to the main casing.

The lever 12 is shown in Fig, l of the drawings in its lowered position with the table 55 resting upc-n the disk 59 to be driven thereby. This is the position these parts occupy when the lever 15 is in the full line position in which it is shown in l. When, however, the lever 15 is rocked to its dotted line position of Fig. l and is retained in this position by the latch 18 which is pivotally supported at 19, the lever 12 will be suiciently elevated to hold the table 55 out of engagement with the disk 59.

It is desirable to provide means for auto- `soatically initiating rotation of the table 55 to start twisting the tape T when the ball B reached a predetermined size. This is accom plished in the construction shown by providing the latch 1B with a spring 80 which normally holds this latch in its dotted line position of Fig. l, that is the position in which the table 55 is out of engagement with its disk 59, and by providing this latch with an upwardly projecting end 8l which is connected to a sliding core within the solenoid 92. The arrangement is such that when this solenoid is excited it will retract its core to thereby rock the latch 18 to its full lino position to unlatch the lever 15 and allow the table to move downward into engagement with the rotating disk 59. The solenoid 92 is connected by conductors. not shown, to a switch having the extension 83 and mounted in a casing 84 secured to the machine casing. This extension is adapted to be engaged by a screw 85 which may be adjustably mounted upon the sliding sleeve i8 as shown in Fig. 2. The arrangement is such that when the ball B is large enough to cause the screw 85 to engage the extension 83 the circuit will be closed to operate the solenoid and release the latch 18. This circuit should be under the con trol of the latch 18 so that it can be closed only when the latch is in its dotted position of Fig. l.

Since it is desired that the table 55 be held out of engagement with the driving disk 59 during the greater portion of the winding operation, the hand operated lever 43 is provided at its lower end with the laterally extending nger 86 having an adjustable holt 81 adapted to engage the lever 15 when the lever 43 is moved rearwardly, to thereby rock this lever 15 to its dotted line position to be held in this position by the latch 18. This construction insures that the table 55 will be raised when the lever 43 is in its rearward position.

The winding machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings operates as follows: The golf ball center or core is placed by hand between the cooperating heads l5 and l5 and the power is turned on to rotate .the heads and wind the tape T upon the core. This operation is continued until the ball body reaches the approximate size indicated by the juncture of the parts T and T' in Fig. 4. At this point the electric circuit will be closed by the screw 85 engaging the extension 83, to thereby trip the latch 18 and permit the table 55 to engage'the rotating disk 59 to be driven thereby and slowly rotate the spool 52 to twist the 'tape T. As the ball body increases in size the driving disk 59 will be moved inwardly toward the axis of the table 55 to thereby increase the table speed andirnpart a higher twist to the tape T so as to gradually decrease the width of this tape as the ball increases vin size as indicated Vin Fig. 3.

It will be understood from the foregoing that as a result of the present invention the entire ball body may be wound on a single machine in one continuous operationand from one continuous length of rubber tape, and that the maj or portion of the ball body may be wound of a wide 4tape to secure'a high degree of compactness and as: the full size of the ball body is approached the tape is twisted `and folded to 'reduce its width so that it will resemble anarrow tape or thread as it lies on the ball body at the outer periphery thereof to provide the desired firm anchorage for the balata cover.

Fig. 4 of the drawings shows a golf ball constructed in accordance with the present invention, and which -consists of a center or core of any well known or preferred construction, and about which the wide rubbertape T is tightly wound until theball body approaches full size. From this point outwardly the ball body is formed of the same tape but the tape is twisted or folded to produce the'narrow vtape 'or thread indicated by T', Vand to which the cover X maybe firmly anchored.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the 'size and shape of the voids near the outer periphery of the ball body may be controlled at will by controlling the amount of fold or twist that is imparted tothe tape as it is supplied to the ball body. This makes it possible to provide a ball body, the outer periphery of which will serve best to anchor the cover thereto. By gradually increasing the twist of the tape as the bali body increases in size, as herein contemplated, voids that are somewhat conical in shape may be produced, which will afford the cover better anchorage than the voids produced heretofore, by using the same size narrow thread to form the entire portion of the ball body near its outer periphery.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire by Letters Patent is:

l. A golf ball having a ball body formed of successive convolutions of a singleelastic tape the Width of 'which greatly exceeds its thickness, and having this tape wound in a at condition throughout a large portion of said body and in a twisted and folded condition of greatly reduced width and increased thickness at the periphery'of the ball body, the change from the wide to the narrow condition of the tape being gradual throughout a number of convolutions.

2. A golf ball having a ball body the outer periphery of which is formed of windings of a narrow elastic tape and the interior of the lbody nearer the center is formed of windings of a wide elastic tape the width of which greatly exceeds its thickness, and wherein the narrow tape is formed of the wide tape by twisting and folding the latter to greatly reduce its width and increase its thickness.

3. A golf ball having a ball body the outer periphery of which is for-med of windings of a narrow elastic tape and the interior of the body nearer the center is formed of windings of a wide elastic tape the width of which greatly exceeds its thickness, and wherein the narrow tape is integral with the wide tape and is formed from the latter by twisting and folding the wide tape to greatly reduce its width and increase its thick- VHESS.

4. A golf ball wherein at least a substantial portion of the body thereof is provided with successive convolutions of a long length of unbroken elastic tape the width of which greatly exceeds its thickness, and wherein the tape is wound at the outer periphery "of the body in a twisted and folded condition of greatly Vreduced width and increased thickness and is wound nearer the ball center in a ilat and much wider condition, the change in the width of the tape inwardly from said outer periphery being very gradual.

5. A golf ball wherein at least a substantial portion of the body thereof is formed of successive convolutions of one continuous and unbroken elastic tape the width 'of which greatly exceeds its thickness, and wherein the tape is wound at the outer periphery of the body in a twisted and folded condition of greatly reduced width and increased thickness and Vis wound nearer the ball center in a flat and `much wider condition.

. HIRAM N. HUSE. 

